The writing is on the wall for the WAC.
Unless the conference finds at least six new members in the next year, the conference will play just one more season of Division I football.
In the last week it has been reported that San Jose State and Utah State will defect in to the Mountain West, Texas State and Texas-Arlington, non-football, will join the Sun Belt, while Texas-San Antonio and La. Tech will join Conference-USA.
All moves are expected to become official today with changes not slated to take place until 2013-2014.
Interim WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd issued a statement Monday that the conference has “confidence that the WAC will maintain its more than 50-year history as a preeminent Division I conference.”
The conference will still welcome Texas State and Texas-San Antonio this season, with Seattle, Denver and Texas-Arlington as non-football playing members.
The Vandals are on the outside looking in along with New Mexico State with no conference home for the 2013-14 season and beyond. Seattle, Denver and Boise State, non-football, are the only other schools committed to the WAC for 2013 and beyond for the Olympic sports.
Athletic Director Rob Spear declined comment, but the athletic department issued a statement to the media on the matter Tuesday.
In the statement, Idaho decried its peer institutions for their financially driven motives.
“We are disappointed in the recent changes that are driven not by tradition, academic quality, competitiveness, or the student experience, but by money,” the statement said. “As we anticipate future conference movement, we continue to believe strongly that athletes are students first and the experience for them and our fans is first and foremost. We will continue to work diligently to most strongly position the University of Idaho.”
With the future of the WAC looking bleaker by the day Idaho is now left with three options, some more realistic than the others.
It could join the Sun Belt as a football-only member. But Idaho would need to get an invite first, as well as find a home for all other sports, not an easy task.
Idaho could go independent. The struggle would be finding consistent scheduling partners, a bowl tie-in and consistent television revenue.
Idaho could return to its old home the Big Sky in D-IAA, or FCS. Idaho would have to weigh the cut in expenses to the cut in revenue, at least at first.
Spear said he would address concerns of Idaho’s future plans in a teleconference with media members when conference shifts become final.
New Mexico State could be one step closer to securing its FBS future with Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News reporting that the Sun Belt could have interest in them for all sports. New Mexico State fields competitive basketball and baseball programs and its proximity to the Texas border means the alignment makes geographical sense.
Sun Belt Commissioner and former WAC Commissioner Karl Benson ushered Idaho and New Mexico State into the WAC from the Sun Belt in 2005.
Benson called news of Sun Belt interest in New Mexico State “premature” in a recent statement.
Sean Kramer can be reached at [email protected]